Advantages of Remote Patient Monitoring in Healthcare Systems

Remote Patient Monitoring is a healthcare technology which allows the healthcare practitioners to monitor patients outside conventional health care settings such as at home or in the workplace by use of such ingenious apparatus like telehealth response watch, RPM sensors, general examination camera, and appropriate interactive software for the analysis and presentation of the captured data.

It is also called telehomecare and it is mainly used to combat and deal effectively with the following kinds of sicknesses: dementia, falls, diabetes, congestive heart failures, and infertility, to mention a few!

The discussions that follow shall describe the advantages of remote patient monitoring technology in healthcare systems with the aim of enlightening doctors and medical experts.

Advantages of Remote Patient Monitoring in Health care System

Increases Health care Access

This technology allows doctors and other medical experts to reach out to a wider market or potential health care seekers by reason of not being limited to the confines of the traditional healthcare clinic or facility. This means that experts are given the power to influence a much wider base regardless of their geographical locations. It also results in greatly improved revenue inflows for experts and practitioners who avail this technology.

Reduced Healthcare Delivery Costs

Owing to the fact that patients are not required to be physically present at the hospital, clinic or healthcare facility, the amount of money spent on traveling to and from the healthcare facility, diagnosis, laboratory tests, and prescriptions; and for the wards and other in-patient health care resources are greatly reduced and in some instances, completely eliminated. The reduced cost of healthcare for patients ultimately reduces their financial strain and discomfort.

Enables Early Detection of Deterioration

Certain aspects and technologies of remote patient monitoring such as real-time trend analysis of the psychological parameters and the remote monitoring makes it possible for the medical experts to detect any deterioration in the patient’s medical condition and emergency situations as early as possible and in so doing, prevent major problems and lapses that could have far-reaching repercussions if left unattended to. This also prevents further complications and ensures timely responses on the part of the patients.

Enhanced Diagnosis and Prescriptions

Certain ailments and medical conditions do have complex and somewhat related signs and symptoms so much so that, even the most experienced and qualified healthcare practitioners may often be confused in the course of diagnosis and prescriptions. This technology also helps in the diagnosis and prescription of symptoms and in consequence, facilitates the delivery of the right form of care for the patients. Chances of misdiagnosis are therefore greatly reduced and with it, the attendant complications and side effects. Therefore, adoption of remote monitoring goes a long way in ensuring a high quality of healthcare.

Saves Time

Doctors and other medical experts are not required to be in direct physical contact with their patients under this arrangement. This is made possible by the fact that all the crucial health data such as serious events, skipped doses, and anomalies regarding the patient are relayed to them in a prompt and timely manner. The health care practitioners are therefore freed from the need to be completely preoccupied with their patients and hence are accorded more time to attend to other chores and tasks that equally matter.

Increases Efficiency

The patient data that are captured by the various equipment under this scheme are very accurate. That combined with the prompt delivery of that data and the accurate manner in which the data is analyzed and interpreted increases the efficacy of the healthcare services. This also leads to increased overall healthcare quality.

Improved Communications

The exchange of data and critical pieces of information to and from the patient and the respective medical expert is greatly enhanced mainly by reason of all the critical data being relayed to the doctors in real time and in the most efficient manner possible. The healthcare providers are hence granted the power to make critical decisions that may save the lives of their patients in a timely manner.

Reduces Strains on the Available Facilities

As intimated before, the patients are not required to visit the health care facilities while receiving treatments under this arrangement. Consequently, the strain that the influx of such patients would naturally put on the available healthcare resources such as availability of beds, waiting lounges, laboratory equipments, and benches are considerably reduced. This makes it possible for the standard healthcare facility to reach out to as many patients as possible. Besides, the doctors and other medical experts are also allowed to pay individualized attention to each of the patients.

Simplifies Complex Tasks

Certain complex health care tasks such as hemodialysis and diabetes management are greatly simplified when administered under this arrangement. That’s because they are largely automated and are generally performed faster and with as minimal human intervention as possible. The possibilities of any lapses, mistakes or oversights in the course of such treatments are therefore greatly reduced. Complications that may naturally arise as the result of these oversights are also kept at bay.

Increased Competitive Edge

Being a relatively new technology and also given its overall efficiency, the adoption of this treatment arrangement places that healthcare company in an advantageous position over and above the other players in its community/sphere of influence. Any healthcare company that is intent on operating at an advantage over its competitors therefore has no choice but to adopt it as soon as possible.

Final Verdict

Though in its nascent stage, the Remote Patient Monitoring technology is clearly where the future of medicine lies owing to the fact that it grants all the stakeholders in the field of medicine the ability to overcome the challenges and limitations that are posed by existing medical technologies. For this reason, any healthcare seeker or provider ought to seriously consider adopting it as a standard managerial best practice.

Sathya Kumar is the Founder & CEO at Techindia Infoway Pvt Ltd., Chennai. Techindia is Asia’s largest provider of healthcare management solutions for exceptional remote healthcare diagnostics and patient monitoring, with a proven track of high performance for highly regulated healthcare industries and for the patients globally.

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Remote patient monitoring is a promising technology and has grown at a rapid rate over the years. I personally am a big advocate (and fan) of it and have discussed about it’s advantage on multiple occasions.

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